There is a method to my madness...

I get the question every now and again - "Why do you customize?"

Well, in regards to figures and toys specifically, it is because it is my hobby... and I enjoy doing it. As for how I got started, I think the answer is simple. I am a collector, and sometimes... I just can't buy a figure of a character I like, or sometimes the one that is available out there doesn't meet my expectations.

I subscribe to the philosophy that "If you don't like it, fix it yourself."

So, I started repainting figures... you see, a lot of times, the eight-year-olds they have painting them in Taiwan don't always do a good job. Those factories can get quite warm I hear, and they don't always have air conditioning. I understand... it's not easy work, and they have small fingers.

Anyhow, since I've always been interested in painting, and I started out painting those little lead miniatures used in tabletop war games and Dungeons & Dragons. I was always more interested in the figures and the painting than the actual games themselves...

After doing that for a number of years, it seemed like an obvious evolution for me to take it to a different arena. So when I got into action figures, it only seemed natural to paint them too... and it was much easier painting something that was six inches tall as opposed to something just over an inch tall.

Then one day, a figure I wanted to repaint had a broken elbow. I set out to fix it, and in doing so, found an enjoyment in it... and began looking at my open toys in a new light. Sometimes, the lack of articulation in a figure frustrated me, as I am one to open and display them about my workarea, often times positioning them and posing them in an artistic way... or as some have been apt to tease me with... "playing with my dolls..." (those jerks!) So I began to figure out ways to add articulation on figures that didn't have points of movement where I wanted to pose it better. This involved ripping apart other figures to either use for parts, or to combine into better, more gooder figures (yeah, I said it that way on purpose... deal with it.) This led to much destruction. Destruction rules.

Since then, it has grown into an obsession... and I am constantly looking for new ways to do things, and make figures cooler... and to create new and original figures as well. Like I said, if I don't find satisfaction to what is available to suit my tastes, I make it myself. And then sometimes I just happen to make something by accident, as a result of playing around with parts I have laying around and/or have collected from junk piles and eBay over the years.

So the entire concept of customization appeals to me... and I customize computers (both the actual PC and the operating system itself... UI tools, skins, fonts, graphics, etc.), action figures, various toys, etc. I love watching shows like Monster Garage, Monster House, Biker Build-off, etc., and watching others customize their lives and "toys" too (and if I had the money and means... I guarantee I'd be welding up my own monster in my garage too...)

It leads to another core philosphy I have... get inspiration from others, and never stop learning. You can get inspiration in the strangest of places. I can't tell you how many times I've watched a show like Monster Garage, then ran downstairs into my Lab to try something I thought of while watching Jesse James weld together one of his divine creations. If he can use a technique in metal, I can try it in plastic... right?

That being said, I'd like to address another issue I've seen in various customizing communities: Elitism.

I've seen a lot of cockiness... and people claiming to be "the best" at a particular thing, or in other ways just being full of themselves and what they do (compounded and fueled usually by others' continual ego-stroking.) These are the people who also claim that others are "copying" them, and that they "did it first." To those people I say quite simply: "Bullshit."

There is no such thing as being the "best" at anything, let alone customizing. Adopting that mentality only sets yourself up for humilty, failure and the worst - stagnation. When you get to the point that you think your shit doesn't stink, you stop growing... and you stop being an "innovator." Not to mention you end up just looking and sounding like a giant assbag.

Customizing, specifically, is an art form. As art, you must keep in mind this: Not all art appeals to all people. Ten people can look at a painting, and nine may think it's a smear of crap on canvas, while the tenth may think it is a ground-breaking, world-changing statement (and those people I call "Manhattan socialites." I keed, I keed.) Seriously though... those that collect action figures may look at things I create, and can appreciate the work I put into them, and realize the complexity of what I achieved - the various parts I had to use, the number of figures I combined, the original sculpting I may have done, etc., and soak in the big picture. People who don't collect action figures, or know much about them, just think I play with toys and sometimes paint them.

I enjoy critique - good and bad. Quite often, It helps me refine my skills, and helps me look at what I do from another set of eyes... often times, after working on one thing for a long period of time, I may overlook fine details that someone else may notice right away. When it's all said and done, though - I do it for myself. I do it the way I like it, and if no one else likes it... it isn't the end of the world for me. It's my art. I do what I do, ultimately, for myself. Selfish as that may sound... it's what a hobby is, right?

It's not like I just make these things, then rush out and sell them on eBay like some other customizers do. I'm not running a production line here... I am my only customer. After spending the amount of time I do on some of these, I get quite attached to them. People often ask to buy ones I have made, and it's not something I could easily do, considering my attachment to them. Plus, there's no fair price I could possibly charge to compensate for the time I put into them, plus materials... no price that I would think is fair to both myself or the buyer. Unless it's in the thousands... Hell, I'd whore out my customs for that much... ;)

I like to inspire others. If someone else likes what I do or have done, and it leads them to do the same thing, or improve on what I have done - that is an ultimate reward of sharing what I do. That's why I take loads of work-in-progress shots, write tutorials, etc. - to show others how I did it, and hopefully pass on some of what I learned along the way (often times making it up as I go along.) I look at what others do all the time, for inspiration and instruction. I am not afraid to change how I do things if someone else found a better or cooler way. Often times I have found, in trying to duplicate what someone else has done, yet another way to do something, or learned a technique that is altogether different. That provides worlds of gratification.

In other words, I have learned to not be afraid to try something new... even if it seems impossible at first. In fact - I TRY to do new things all the time... churning out the same crap over and over, or just like everyone else's, is just plain boring. And even if something IS impossible... at least for the time being... often times something unexpected occurs that may be better, or at the very least, you learn from your mistakes.

And yes... I've stumbled upon a new customizing community recently... Hot Wheels. Some of these guys are AMAZING. Some of their work simply BLOWS ME AWAY. And it has inspired me... that is why I now have about eight Hot Wheels sitting on my desk, awaiting their torture in my lab... Igor, go get me some paint stripper - Pronto!